Anyone Can Write A Conversation With Lisa Lepki, CMO at ProWritingAid

Welcome to the Marketing Growth Podcast. This episode is sponsored by Ahrefs. I’m your host, Shane Barker, and today I have Lisa Lepki with me. She’s the Chief Marketing Officer at ProWritingAid, an online tool that helps writers refine their marketing. She’s been writing for over a decade, and I wanted to learn more about her writing journey.

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Okay, now let’s jump into it. We’re excited today! We’ve got Lisa Lepki, Chief Marketing Officer of ProWritingAid. I’m excited to be interviewing you today, though maybe there are two or three people who don’t know who you are. I know you’re huge in the UK, especially in London. But give us a little backstory—where’d you grow up, tell us about your family?

And are they all in Canada?

Wow. So family reunions are probably a little difficult to get everybody together, I would assume.

I mean, why wouldn’t you go to a barn? That makes total sense. So you grew up in Calgary—how long were you there?

Yeah, because those boys have a way of keeping you in certain cities—if things go well! That’s awesome. So any interesting facts about you or growing up? Like, anything nobody would expect—maybe you used to ride horses or something?

Really? So everything’s interlinked? You can literally stay inside and just walk from building to building? That’s kind of like Vegas, but instead of a train, it’s for survival. They’re like, “We don’t want to lose people in Calgary—they’ll freeze to death.”

That’s awesome. That’s a really interesting fact. And now you’re in London?

Good times, good times.

Yeah, super difficult life. Thanks for pointing that out. Sounds like you’re struggling out there. I gotta go to the beach and see a comedy club. And we were joking around, like, everybody in the US—we, you know, what I think is funny is that everybody in the US is like, “I’m locked down,” like, “Don’t go anywhere. You can’t go outside.” And every week it’s different. So I think it’s funny—you’re like, “I’m going to the beach. I’m going to a comedy club.” I’m like, “A comedy club? I’ve heard about those. Is that where people—oh, that’s where they laugh. I’ve heard about those.” That sounds awesome. Well, good, good. Excited for you doing that. And you went to school, you said you went to school—you went to the East Coast?

And then where’d you go from there? Then obviously, you’re having a writing—like, what was your first job out of college? It sounds like…

I do. I’ve never been to Cebu, but I’ve actually worked with some virtual assistants that live in Cebu. I’ve said nothing but good things about Cebu. And you were there for a year.

That’s awesome. And what were you doing? I mean, because usually you kind of want to save the world, which I’m sure you did your part. Cebu was a good place to start.

You have a big heart so you care.

I did my part. If everybody just cared for a year, imagine the impact we could have. Right? Then after that, it’s just like, if we just gave one year of our life—actually, that’s a true story. If everybody gave one year of caring, God, it would be like the Care Bear Stare. Who knows? That would be amazing.

It really would. I know it’s hard to get people to donate an hour out of their year, let alone one year. That’s awesome, especially in the Philippines. I’ve never been to the Philippines, but I’ve seen nothing but good things. I’ve traveled, speaking at events, and met a lot of people, and they tell me the Philippines—like, there’s certain areas that are absolutely stunning. Like, stunning. It’s almost like…

The food was probably amazing, huh?

Love it. I’m a big—well, I used to be a big traveler. For people listening to the podcast, traveling is where we used to be able to go to other places, like on a plane and stuff like that. You’ll have to Google it and take a look. But yeah, I do miss traveling.

The airlines keep sending me these emails like, “Hey, do you want to go to Maui? It’s $129 one way.” And I’m like, I do. I’m willing to get COVID. Let’s do it. That makes sense. I’d rather be on a beach than, you know, stuck here not being able to go anywhere.

Alright, so we’ve got a little background on who Lisa is, where she started, how she gave one year of her life—which I think you all should go out and do, by the way. I’d highly recommend it.

Now, how did you get into writing? Was it just a passion you had? How did that whole thing happen? Because your degree wasn’t necessarily an English degree, right?

So you’re an angel. I say that because I know you were probably the person who read my papers and said, “Okay, we’re going to have to make a lot of changes here.” You’re the reason people might think, “Shane’s actually a good writer,”—because of people like you. Not only did you give a year to the Philippines, but you also read stuff I’d write and probably go, “Okay, I told you this would take an hour, but this is going to take three, and it’s only four paragraphs. We’re missing a lot of commas and punctuation.” That’s awesome.

Awesome. And this is all joking aside—which I don’t say often on the podcast—I had a teacher, Miss Schwartz, my English teacher. I really wish I’d paid more attention to her. She probably doesn’t listen to this podcast, but I truly wish I had spent more time in English class.

Back then, I was just like, “I’ll get through it.” I’d write papers that were okay. These days I have a team of phenomenal writers who make me look amazing online, but still—it’s not that you either have it or you don’t, but it’s definitely hard for me. When I sit down to edit something, it just takes a lot. But for you, it comes naturally. That’s awesome.

Yeah, that makes total sense. You have to train your brain to write better, read more, study the craft—just like an artist. And I really do wish I had listened more—or maybe met you 20-something years ago, when I was starting that journey and ignoring teachers.

Anyway, it’s too late…

It’s never too late. What’s never too late is that I have awesome writers now—and I know where to hire them. So it’s not too late! It’s about knowing when to hire someone. Should I try to figure this out on my own? No. I should hire someone who’s been doing it for 20 years.

Again, I’m not a bad writer. I just… when I compare myself to others, I’m like, “Man, I wish I could write like that.” Maybe one day. We’ll see.

So what would you say to other writers out there? Because writing wasn’t your original career path. You enjoyed it, but it wasn’t the thing you planned. What would you say to fellow writers? What message would you give them? Because I feel like your advice could help.

Yeah, that makes sense. And if you’re someone who writes good sales copy, please reach out to me—sooner rather than later. That’s what I need on my team. I need someone focused on conversions. That’s what I care about.

On that note, let’s wrap up this segment of the Marketing Growth Podcast. Thank you, Lisa. It’s been a pleasure to have you on. I’ve still got tons of questions about ProWritingAid, which I’ll save for the next episode. Stay tuned for another fun conversation.